


A Little Less Sixteen Candles (A Little More “Touch Me”)

by Aethria



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Birthday, But only a little, F/M, Found Family, Suggestive Themes, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28438188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aethria/pseuds/Aethria
Summary: There.  Sliding out of the furthest corner of the room, Mason ambled over to the table.  Our eyes met.  His gaze was intense, so focused on me that it sent a shiver down my spine.He flicked his lighter open and lit the candles without looking away from me.“Make a wish, sweetheart,” he purred.---It's Valerie's birthday, and Unit Bravo helps her celebrate.
Relationships: Female Detective/Mason (The Wayhaven Chronicles)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	A Little Less Sixteen Candles (A Little More “Touch Me”)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the lovely mepheesto with her detective! To see more Val, check out her out on tumblr!

My birthday began unlike any other day. 

The water heater in the apartment building broke some time during the night. I rushed through a frigid shower and dressed quickly, hoping to get warm soon. My car, at least was kind enough to start quickly. But the drive to the station was only the calm before the storm.

To say work was hell would be an understatement.

The police captain was waiting at the front desk when I arrived, mid tirade at Douglas for filing a piece of evidence incorrectly. I had hardly entered the lobby before I was dragged into it, berated for “not enforcing better organization in my people”. I grit my teeth and nodded along until he left.

Things went downhill from there. The coffee pot reluctantly spit out one cup worth of liquid before stubbornly refusing to brew any more. A woman came in to report a car theft, the child on her hip screaming for the hour it took Tina to fill out her report. The mayor called with an unnecessary reminder to not talk to Bobby about cases. I had hardly disconnected the call before the man in question came striding into the station. He dumped a cup of shitty gas station coffee on my desk as a “gift” before demanding information on a string of home burglaries. The woman with the screaming kid came back. Apparently her teenage son had taken the car without her knowledge while skipping school. She spent a full half hour apologizing for the mix up, promising to punish her son, and letting her toddler scream some more.

By the time I left the station and crawled into my car, I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep for the next twelve hours. 

But Team Bravo said they had urgent news to tell me tonight. I thought longingly of my bed but dutifully drove out to the warehouse in the forest. It took me longer than usual in the growing dark, but the car seemed to have made it without any new dents or scratches.

I walked quickly to the closet with the false wall, praying this wouldn’t take long. 

No one came to greet me immediately. I headed to the living room, sure they must be waiting for me there. 

I was startled to see a rainbow of balloons covering the ceiling, tangled with the colorful streamers draped across the room. The explosion of color was dizzying. I blinked at the sight, too surprised to notice the vampire headed my way.

Before I could comment, Felix dragged me across the room to a table.

“Happy birthday Val!” He cheered.

Nate laughed. “Felix, at least let her take off her coat first.”

“Nah,” he replied, pushing me in front of a cake. The white frosting was a bit uneven, red words scrawled imperfectly across the top. 

My stomach growled, reminding me I only had that single cup of coffee all day.

“You baked me a cake?” I asked, surprised and touched.

“I did,” Nate said, a warm smile on his face. “He decorated. Happy birthday Valerie.”

I blinked, turning to take in the scene around me. Adam leaned against the wall to our right. When I met his eyes, he gave a solemn nod. “Detective. Happy birthday.”

Where was-

“Mason!” Felix called. “Come light the candles!”

There. Sliding out of the furthest corner of the room, Mason ambled over to the table. Our eyes met. His gaze was intense, so focused on me that it sent a shiver down my spine.

He flicked his lighter open and lit the candles without looking away from me.

“Make a wish, sweetheart,” he purred.

Heat flashed through me at the pet name. My body ignited with that one little word.

Mason seemed well aware of this. The corner of his mouth drew up in a smirk. I couldn’t help the way I stared at him, heart fluttering in my chest.

“Quick, before the wax drips on my hard work!” Felix’s loud voice snapped my focus back to the cake.

I drew my hair back over my shoulders and leaned in.

Mason was still looking at me.

Bittersweet longing crawled up my chest. I tried to blow it out with the same breath that extinguished the candles. I finally took my coat off and settled into a chair as Adam was forced to cut the cake.

The little party that followed was warm. 

There was Nate, smiling and handing me a sunflower. Felix, eating a large slice of cake and giggling uncontrollably. Adam, sliding me a can of pepper spray, and pointedly ignoring Felix.

And Mason. There, across the table, just watching me. 

I couldn’t help the way my eyes drifted back to him. Over and away, over and away, like the tide.

He was always looking back.

As the night wore on, his stare only grew more heated.

It was hard not to react when the room was steadily growing warmer.

After two hours, I couldn’t take it anymore. I faked a yawn and stretched.

“This has been great, but I need to head to bed. Thanks guys.”

Adam simply nodded. Nate wished me a good night and began trying to wrangle Felix onto his feet.

Mason appeared at my elbow. “Let me walk you to your room, sweetheart.”

“Sure.”

We fell into step and started down the hallway. Mason kept his hands in his pockets. Even facing forward, I could tell he was looking at me. The heat from earlier rose with every step.

It was so hard to keep my breath steady when a wildfire was burning between us.

When we reached my door, his hands slid around my hips.

“Want to end your birthday with a _real_ present?”

God, did I want to.

When I hesitated, his hands moved to my neck and shoulders. Rubbing and massaging them lightly. Heat trailed behind his fingertips, tingling into my veins. It was hard not to melt into the touch.

“So tense. I can help you relax.” His voice was so low like this.

“Mason...” I tried.

His hands left my body to gesture suggestively at his own.

“C’mon detective, don’t you want to unwrap your present?” 

It was too much. I sighed.

“I don’t think you can call something a present if I can’t keep it.”

Mason took half a step back, seemingly startled. His eyes were unreadable as they searched my face.

Whatever he saw had him straightening and taking another step back.

“Good night, Detective.”

He left without a backwards glance.

I leaned against the bedroom door and sighed.

_Happy birthday to me._

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this before I played the M route so please forgive anything that feels off!


End file.
